ICED SNOWFLAKE CHRISTMAS CAKE

It doesn't seem that long ago since I posted last years Christmas cake and yet here we are again............

Baby blue fondant icing covers the main cake and simple white snowflakes adorn the top. A sprinkling of snow white magic sparkles and silver hologram glitter. Wired ribbon to match the snowflakes and silver beads to add some Christmas bling.

I thought I would delve into the archives and put the Christmas cakes from other years alongside this posting for you to see. They are all very simple yet effective.

Christmas Cake December 2008.

Iced Christmas Cake 2007 (my favourite to date). This cake has served me well and this year is the first photograph on the first page of Google Images. Also on the top row of Google Images is the very same cake called 'A Slice of Iced Christmas Cake'.

Iced Christmas Star Cake 2006.

ICED CHRISTMAS TREE CAKE

Yet another Christmas cake! These cakes are now a tradition on Kitchen Delights and show just how easy it is to create your own iced Christmas cake, without having to use royal icing or spend hours and hours creating a masterpiece.

For this cake all I used was a couple of Christmas tree cutters, edible red glitter and stars, all of which are available from sugarcraft shops or online.

I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year. I will be back in the new year with lots more recipes and photographs.

Thank you to all readers from around the world who have stopped by and looked at my food blog. Also, a huge thank you for leaving such generous comments.

ICED CHRISTMAS CAKE

This years Christmas cake has now been iced with Regalice bought from my local sugarcraft shop. Star shapes have been cut from white icing and topped with gold stars bought from Jane Asher. A sprinkling of magic sparkles, and then to complete the look, a wired gold ribbon has been placed around the outside of the cake to match the gold stars.
The cake decoration is very simple but effective don't you think?

Please take a look at last years Christmas cake.

Iced Reindeer Christmas Cake

A Reindeer Christmas Cake for my two small grandchildren and their Mummy and Daddy! I know it's unusual for small children to like fruit cake, but they both really enjoy it.

A very easy cake to decorate using Christmas red icing, two sizes of reindeer cutters, a Christmas tree cutter, red glitter, small red and gold stars, a dusting of snowflake sprinkles, and two different ribbons. Some of the items were purchased on my day out to Cake International in Birmingham last month, and as you can see I used my time well!

Back soon!

Iced Holly Christmas Cake

This years cake was inspired by the ribbon I purchased on a Christmas stall. As usual I had no idea how I was going to decorate the cake. Unlike lots of avid cake decorators, I don't sit down and draw out a design but wait for some inspiration to rain down on me.  Hubby often asks how I am going to decorate the cake and more often than not, I am clueless until the last minute.

I made my usual cake recipe and this year chose to ice the cake in ivory sugarpaste. The holly leaves are cut out and left to dry over night on crumpled up tin foil. I then brushed the leaves with gold lustre, wet the edges of the leaves and sprinkled over some disco edible glitter. The holly berries are moistened and rolled in red glitter.

All so very easy and achievable too. Sometimes with cake decorations less is more and the photograph doesn't really do the cake justice.

Tip:  Using a silicone mat (I bought mine from Lidl) helps when rolling out sugarpaste it doesn't stick so easily. I use cornflour to lightly dust the silicone mat and rolling pin instead of icing sugar.  The reasoning is that using icing sugar dries out the sugarpaste.  Also a shiny surface is easily achieved with cornflour.

A Slice of Iced Christmas Cake 2007

As requested, here is a photograph of the fruit cake which lies beneath the coating of icing and marzipan.
The cake cuts cleanly without crumbling and is a recipe I have been using for a few years now.
The recipe for the fruit cake was in a leaflet inside a video tape called The Fun of Cake Decorating by Elaine MacGregor.
Elaine ran the Woodnutt's School of Cake Decorating in Hove, Sussex many years ago, but unfortunately, I can't find any information about her or the school.

ICED SPARKLE CHRISTMAS CAKE

A Christmas Cake with all the usual sparkle we can safely get away with at this time of the year.

It was my first visit to Cake International at the NEC Birmingham this year and I have no idea why I have never made the trip before. Fortunately, I have a very understanding husband, who made no comments regarding my purchases, only to say, did I get everything I needed for my Christmas Cakes, bless!

Back soon.

ICED CHRISTMAS STAR CAKE

OK!! so I did't dream up all of the design for the Christmas Cake. The idea was taken from the December issue of GoodFood Magazine and the gold stars were used after seeing Nigella's Christmas! The stars can be purchased from www.Jane-Asher.co.uk

ICED LEMON CURD LAYER CAKE

Andrew over at SpittoonExtra is hosting
'Waiter There's Something...In My Layered Cake'. All of the 'Waiter' roundups have made wonderful reading, not forgetting the drooling over the photographs.
One of my all time favourite cakes is the Iced Lemon Curd Layer Cake by the trusted Delia Smith - she certainly knows how to bake a good cake and I've enjoyed cooking and eating many of her cakes in the past.


I've got her original Book of Cakes, a paperback, and its literally falling to pieces. Now, that's the sign of a good book!
Perhaps you might think this cake is more suited to Easter time? Well sorry, this is a cake to lift the spirits at any time of the year, perhaps not Christmas though!
To quote Delia 'You couldn't get a more lemony recipe than this; layers of lemon-flavoured sponge, filled with home-made lemon curd and then a lemon icing for the finishing touch. Its wonderful'.
I couldn't have described this cake any better.
If you pop over to her website you will be able to see the recipe.
The only thing I altered was that I made double the quantity of icing for the top of the cake. The quantity given on the original recipe is a little sparse for me.

Spiced Rum, Raisin, Banana & Apple Cupcakes - Recipe

Everywhere I look on the Internet it is telling me to love my leftovers.  I started to feel a little guilty because I'm not sure that I do love my leftovers, in fact all they do is stare back at me and make me feel bad that I haven't used everything up from Christmas.

For these cupcakes I have used a spiced rum that I opened a while back, and one I was kindly sent for review, although I do feel a bit naughty using it in cupcakes.  A packet of opened wrinkly raisins, the last banana in the fruit bowl and a blemished apple.  Magically I used a satsuma left over from Christmas which I have stored in the fridge using StayFresh Longer bags - the satsuma oranges are still perfectly juicy.

I think I've now redeemed myself and love my leftovers......but only because these lovely cupcakes are full of Caribbean flavours.

                        The cupcakes are for adults only, both the cake batter and icing contain rum!

Using an ice cream scoop helps with loading the cupcake cases, baking is messy and I find this is the                                                              cleanest and easiest method

Kitchen Kit: 12 hole muffin tin lined with cupcake cases

Ingredients:
100g raisins
2 tablespoons spiced rum
150g soft margarine (Stork)
150g soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
175g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1 dessert apple
1 ripe banana
finely grated rind of either a satsuma or orange

For the icing:
150g icing sugar
2 tsp rum
8 tsp fresh satsuma or orange juice
Grated rind of a satsuma or orange

You will need: 12-hole muffin tin lined with cupcake cases

1. Preheat the oven 180ºC.
2. Place the raisins in a bowl and pour the rum over, stir and leave whilst you get on with the cake batter.
3. Add the soft margarine, sugar, eggs, sifted flour, baking powder and orange rind to a large bowl.  Whisk for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Peel and core the apple, chop into small pieces.  Peel the banana and cut into small dice.  Add to the cake batter along with the raisins and soaking rum, stir to combine.
5. Use an ice cream scoop to add the cake batter to the cupcake cases.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until golden.  After 10 minutes remove from the tin and continue cooling on a wire rack.
7. To make the icing:  Sift the icing into a bowl, add the rum and enough orange juice to give a coating consistency.  Pour the icing over the cupcakes and decorate with grated orange rind.

Cupcakes cooling on the cake rack
 and I'm resisting eating them before they are iced